You Are Mount Sumeru's Chief Disciple and the Future Sage's Disciple. I Can Rest Easy Entrusting Him to You!

The two chatted as they walked. Jin Sheng was cordial, while Zhu Yin remained neither servile nor overbearing. Before long, they found they got along quite well.

The moment they entered the Bamboo Building, Little White Tiger caught a familiar scent, leaped up, and dove straight into Jin Sheng's arms.

Seeing his son plump and healthy, his fur glossy, and still full of energy, Jin Sheng finally breathed a sigh of relief and repeatedly thanked him.

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Zhu Yin, for saving my Son and caring for him so attentively. I am deeply grateful."

Zhu Yin waved his hand and said with a smile:

"Please don't overstate it, Senior. I merely happened to come across him. It was fate."

He then took out a cup of Enlightenment Tea and invited Jin Sheng to taste it.

The tea was slightly bitter upon entering the mouth, followed by a fragrant sweetness. Most astonishingly... it actually cleared the mind and purified the heart, even making one's comprehension of the Great Dao of heaven and earth somewhat clearer.

Though the effect lasted only a brief moment, it was already a rare treasure to a Great Principle Golden Immortal.

Jin Sheng could not help but praise it.

"This tea is truly wondrous. It can actually improve one's comprehension. Even in the Primordial Wilderness, it is rarely seen! Fellow Daoist, you are truly fortunate!"

Zhu Yin replied with a smile.

"It is merely some spiritual tea from the mountains. I'm glad you like it, Senior."

He had never liked beating around the bush and went straight to the point.

"Actually, I invited you to tea because I wished to ask you for a favor."

"This junior is only lacking a strand of Upper-Grade Innate Separation Fire Essence before I can break through to Primordial Unity Golden Immortal Perfection. I am willing to exchange six taels of Enlightenment Tea for that strand of spiritual essence from your clan."

Under normal circumstances, a strand of Innate Spiritual Essence was worth nine taels of Enlightenment Tea. However, Enlightenment Tea possessed the effect of aiding enlightenment and was especially precious. By that measure, six taels were enough.

After a moment's thought, Jin Sheng smiled readily.

"You saved my boy, and I was just thinking about how to repay this favor. Since you've asked, it is simple."

"Our clan happens to have some in reserve. Once I return, I will have someone deliver it here."

"As for the Enlightenment Tea, we will not take it for nothing. I will trade Upper-Grade Innate Spiritual Fruits, Geng Metal Fruits, for it. One tael of tea leaves for one fruit—how does that sound? If you are willing, I will exchange one jin with you."

Zhu Yin was delighted. This was an unexpected windfall, and he immediately agreed.

Several days later, Jin Sheng prepared to leave Spirit Platform Mountain.

Little White Tiger looked at Zhu Yin with reluctance, when Jin Sheng suddenly asked:

"What do you think of my boy, Fellow Daoist?"

Zhu Yin nodded.

"His bloodline is pure and his aptitude extraordinary. If properly nurtured, his future will be limitless."

Jin Sheng immediately said:

"In that case, why not let him remain by your side as a mount?"

Zhu Yin was taken aback.

"Can you really bear to part with him, Senior?"

Jin Sheng laughed heartily.

"I have twelve sons. This boy is blessed with great fortune and a tough fate. Remaining with you is his good fortune. You are Mount Sumeru's Chief Disciple and the disciple of a future Sage. I can rest easy entrusting him to you!"

With matters put so plainly, Zhu Yin naturally could not refuse.

Besides, he already liked the little fellow. Gaining a spiritual beast as a mount would also benefit his cultivation, so he readily accepted.

Little White Tiger would temporarily return to the White Tiger Clan to inherit his legacy, then be sent over later along with the Geng Metal Fruits.

As for how Little White Tiger had fallen into the hands of that Grand Unity realm Qiongqi, Zhu Yin did not ask further. He knew that some matters would naturally become known when the time came.

After seeing the father and son off, Zhu Yin was in an excellent mood.

Not only had he obtained the Lihuo Fire Essence, but he had also acquired a mount. On top of that, he could trade tea for Geng Metal Fruits. This trip had been immensely rewarding.

In his high spirits, he suddenly thought that although the mountain had fine tea, it lacked good wine.

In his previous life, he had enjoyed tinkering with all sorts of things and had even tried brewing wine. Now that he had so many spiritual fruits and herbs, he might as well brew some spiritual wine himself.

First, he could enjoy drinking it. Second, he could use it to exchange for resources. Third, it would make a respectable offering when entertaining guests.

With the idea in mind, he immediately got to work:

Picking spiritual fruits, peeling and removing the pits, crushing them, fermenting them...

As he went through the entire process, Zhu Yin focused completely. It was both physical work and a tempering of his state of mind.

The process of brewing wine was a gathering of vitality and could likewise be used to comprehend the Great Dao.

He used spells to create a suitable fermentation environment. With spiritual springs, White Lotus, spiritual herbs, and enlightenment treasures enhancing it all, the wine could not possibly turn out poorly.

After that, aside from cultivating, he often tended to the plants in the mountain or guided the Boy Attendants in their cultivation.

From time to time, he would also leave the mountain to capture aquatic creatures with decent spirituality and release them into the Lotus Pond to raise.

The Lotus Pond contained descendants of the Ninth-Grade White Lotus. Though they had not evolved into Innate Spiritual Treasures, with Innate Spiritual Water and other spiritual herbs, perhaps they could cultivate powerful aquatic spiritual creatures with strong bloodlines.

They could serve as spiritual beasts, and they could also become delicious dishes.

Unlike his master Zhunti, who went everywhere forging karmic ties, Zhu Yin preferred to remain in this bamboo grove, cultivating in peace and quietly growing stronger.

As the sun and moon alternated and the stars turned, a hundred years passed in the blink of an eye.

The first batch of spiritual wine was finished. Although only twenty out of a hundred jars had succeeded, it was still a good start. After summarizing his experience and learning from his mistakes, Zhu Yin brewed another batch of spiritual wine.

Sitting inside the Bamboo Building, he poured himself a cup of spiritual wine and slowly savored it. This batch used ordinary spiritual fruits from the mountain as its base, with one Postnatal Low-Grade Spiritual Fruit added in. The taste was acceptable, but its effects were quite good.

Though it was of little use to someone of his cultivation, it had remarkable effects on ordinary Heavenly Immortals.

He kept part of it for storage and gave the rest to the two Boy Attendants, Wuxin and Wuqing. They were Heavenly Immortals themselves, and the wine would aid their cultivation.

Three hundred years later, the second batch of spiritual wine was ready. The success rate was still only half. Zhu Yin once again summarized his experience and brewed another hundred jars.

This batch was even more precious. Several Postnatal Medium-Grade Spiritual Fruits had been added. Some could increase magical power, while others strengthened the physical body. They were comparable to low-grade spiritual pills, and even True Immortals could benefit from them.

Five hundred years later, the White Tiger Clan came to visit, bringing Upper-Grade Innate Separation Fire Essence, ten Geng Metal Fruits, and a young White Tiger.

As agreed, Zhu Yin gave them one jin of Enlightenment Tea leaves in exchange.

After seeing off the White Tiger Clan, he did not immediately enter seclusion. Instead, he first handed Little White Tiger over to the Boy Attendants, then took out a Geng Metal Fruit and swallowed it himself.

Geng Metal Essence flowed into his body, hammering his organs, bones, and sinews like a blacksmith's hammer, making his physical body even stronger.

"As expected of its reputation!" Zhu Yin exclaimed.

Geng Metal Fruits grew on the Upper-grade Innate Spiritual Root... the Geng Metal Fruit Tree. It only bore fruit once every nine thousand years, producing merely seventy-two fruits each time. These fruits were extremely effective at tempering the body. The White Tiger Clan's ability to fight the Dragon Clan head-on in the past was closely related to these fruits.

With the Lihuo Fire Essence, Zhu Yin would soon be able to step into Grand Unity Perfection and begin preparing to break through to the Great Principle realm.

The key to the Great Principle realm was condensing a Dao Flower. The higher its grade, the greater one's potential.

Grades one through three were Lower-Grade Dao Flowers. They could barely allow one to become a Great Principle Golden Immortal, but their strength was relatively weak, and their limit was the middle stage.

Grades four through six were Middle-Grade Dao Flowers. Reaching the Great Principle realm would be comparatively easy, their strength would be average, and their limit was perfection.

Grades seven through nine were Upper-Grade Dao Flowers. They possessed the strongest potential and might even allow one to sever the Three Corpses and become a Quasi-Sage!

Zhu Yin had transformed from Pure Bamboo, a High-Grade Spiritual Root. His foundation was profound, and with Zhunti personally teaching him, along with the fortune of the Profound Sect upon him, he originally had a chance of condensing a seven-rank or even eight-rank Dao Flower.

With the tempering of Five Elements Spiritual Energy, he wanted to strive for a Nine-Rank Dao Flower.

But for him, the words "a chance" were not enough.

Zhu Yin appeared gentle on the surface, but his heart held an exceptionally strong obsession. He did not merely want "a chance." He wanted "certainty"!

Therefore, he needed to continue strengthening his physical body, improving his Primordial Spirit, increasing his magical power, and making his foundation even more stable.

The Geng Metal Fruits had arrived at exactly the right time.

He stored away the remaining nine fruits, then buried the leftover pit in the spiritual field and carefully planted it using vitality spiritual water, Three Lights Divine Water, and fertilizer.

Before entering seclusion, he even deliberately tossed Little White Tiger a Starfruit.

He had been reluctant to do so before because Little White Tiger had not been one of his own.

Now things were different. It was the mount he had personally chosen, so naturally it had to receive special nurturing.